Page 67 of A Chance at Love for the Twin Alphas

“No,” I admit.

“Is it Tony?” she asks carefully. “I found it weird that he immediately dashed into the bathroom when we returned.”

“He had a nervous breakdown before,” I admit.

“Because of Dalila?”

“No.” I shake my head. “I don’t think it’s because of her. It’s because of whatever happened to his first mate.”

“Are you sure now that he had a first mate?” she asks me curiously, slipping closer and nestling into my arms. I love that she just asks questions but doesn’t question what I’m saying. She trusts my judgment and just pushes for more information.

“I’m sure now,” I say. “I don’t know what happened, but I know he had a first mate. And now he is terrified that Dalila will leave him.”

“She won’t,” Elodie tells me. “She is so smitten with him. She got clothes from Elise and me, yet she didn’t want to take his shirt off. She said something about it calming her down. She isn’t aware of it, but she is drawn to his scent.”

“I know. I tried to tell him all that, but he was so distraught…”

“Some scars run deep,” she says quietly.

I take her hand into mine, playing with her fingers. “Do you want to talk about it?” I ask her carefully. “About your scars? You don’t need to, but just know that I’m here in case you want to talk.”

She shrugs. “There isn’t much to say. Elise and I grew up in an orphanage for werewolves. They had no idea we were lycans, and it didn’t matter anyway. It was okay there. School was hell, though. I don’t want to boast, but Elise and I are pretty smart, and we made it into an elite school with a scholarship. It was…” She swallows. “We were the poor orphans there, bullied and made fun of all the time. One girl in particular, an alpha’s daughter, pushed it really far, physically hurting us even. Her words cut the deepest, though.” She pauses. “That’s all. We met Prince Eric there, who instantly took us under his wings. The bullying stopped then.”

My heart sinks as I hear her words. This is the punishment, I think, the Goddess’ punishment for what I did as a teen. “That’s been me,” I say quietly. “The bully.”

“That’s impossible,” she points out. “You weren’t in France.”

I pause. “Maybe I wasn’t. But I was in a different school and tormented a girl. She could have been you.”

Elodie tilts head and turns to look at me.

I swallow the lump down. “I feel terrible about how I was when I was a teen,” I admit. “I can’t believe I was that little shit. It started when Tony and I discovered our parents’ secret. I was sixteen, and I’ve always had issues with my temper, but it got worse then. A bunch of guys kept following me around as if I were their gang leader, and I snapped at a lot of younger students. Whoever crossed my path and looked at me the wrong way.” I pause. “At that time, my OCD got worse, and lashing out at others was all I could do.”

“You couldn’t handle your sensory processing disorder,” she mutters, and I’m shocked she realized I have issues with that, too.

“It’s not an excuse, though.”

“No, it’s not,” she agrees. “Okay, I’m ready. Continue.”

“One day, my so-called friends and I snuck out during a school event. One girl realized we were missing and reported it. I later realized that she didn’t just report us out of malice but because there were reports about rogues roaming the area, and she was worried. Not that it would have mattered. I verbally dressed her down in front of the other classmates,” I admit, flinching at the memory of the fear in her eyes. “The other guys made her life hell from then on,” I admit. “I didn’t participate, but I knew it was happening and kept watching. I made this poor girl my scapegoat for things that weren’t her fault.” I pause. “A year later, she changed schools, and Tony approached me and told me I was being a shitty asshole. We even got into a fistfight over it, for which Dad actually grounded us. He didn’t tell on me, though, and we made up a few days later. And I realized he was right. A bit too late, though. I stopped hanging out with that awful crowd and realized that I actually had no true friends, no real friendships, you know? But that’s my own fault.” I pause. “End of the story.”

It’s eerily quiet between us before Elodie shifts around. She pulls out of my arms and turns around to face me. “Tony was right,” she tells me. “You were a shitty asshole.” She pauses. “I knew this, Henry. I knew about your past. When Elise and I joined the mission with you, we made a proper background check. I’m not aware of what exactly you did, but I knew your reputation.” She pauses. “But I like that you are being honest. You didn’t need to tell me, yet you did.”

“You are mated to a bully,” I mutter. “Honestly, I could understand if you rejected me. Maybe it’s better for you—”

She comes closer so fast that we accidentally hit our heads against each other. Elodie groans, rubbing her forehead, then she punches my shoulder. “Now that’s for the girl who couldn’t stand up against you because you were more powerful than her and for asking me to reject you just to get the easy way out.”

“I didn’t ask you to—”

She grabs me by my collar and pulls me closer, leaning our foreheads against each other. “Yes, you did, and you know it. Do it the fuck again, and I swear you will wish I rejected you. You don’t make this decision for me, and you certainly don’t punish yourself that way. This is not how redemption works. What you do is get up, straighten your crown and do better, and prove that you are not that sixteen-year-old asshole anymore. It takes time, and not everyone from your past will believe you. Not everyone will think you’re going to be a good alpha. Not everyone will forgive, and it’s their right not to do that. You will let them decide if they forgive you or if they won’t. You will need to bear the consequences of what you did, but at least you can always tell yourself that you didn’t take the easy way out.” She glares. “I won’t allow you to take the easy way out.”

Mate hits hard,Arlo says, sounding content.Finally, someone truly chastises you. If she hadn’t done it, I would have projected myself out of your body and punched you myself. How dare you ask her for a rejection?

Sorry, Arlo,I mutter.I didn’t really want to…

I know,he growls.But tell it to her, not me.

No one has ever talked to me the way she does. Not even Dad. Even when he scolded me, it’s been different, probably because he doesn’t know the true void inside me. Elodie knows, yet she accepts me, even if she is mad at me.

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